What Others Are Saying

In this cartoon by Marc Murphy, a doctor does an autopsy on a dead GOP elephant, representing the Republican Party. He pulls out something from inside, saying to his colleague, 'It's a wingnut. There's a lot of them.' (Gannett, Marc Murphy/The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal)

A protracted debate in the Missouri General Assembly has produced a modest step toward improving transparency when labor unions collect and spend fees.

The issues before the Missouri House and Senate include whether unions should be required to annually obtain consent from workers before automatically deducting fees from their paychecks, and whether unions should be required to annually get written consent in order to spend fees on political activities.

The two houses passed differing versions of bills that would attempt to make these requirements law. Neither bill would apply to all unions, as they variously create exemptions for first responders and public safety workers.

Union leaders are said to be unhappy with these measures. The average person without a dog in this fight must wonder why. Or worse, they come to a conclusion that is unfavorable.

Ensuring workers are informed at some regular interval that they are automatically contributing to a union's treasury hardly is cause for alarm, unless for some reason you would oppose informing these workers of this.

This latter idea is particularly true in light of federal law. The law says that while unions can collect fees from non-union workers, these workers can request a rebate of any fees used for political purposes. The bill before the legislature would let workers know beforehand.

Union boosters - heavily weighted to the Democratic side - lined up against the Senate bill, saying it was an effort to weaken organized labor. That could be one result, but whatever happened to the idea that knowledge is power?

No matter what agenda Republicans are pursuing, defenders of the unions are going to need to do better than arguing it is best if workers are not regularly asked how they want to pay their fees or if they want fees spent on political activities.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 18

Loath as we are to interfere with spring break, we'd like to recommend some reading, particularly for adults: There's a study that examines the record of the highly touted Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools. It should be mandatory vacation reading for education policy makers.

Here's the CliffsNotes version:

KIPP middle schools work. They raise student performance. They reduce the performance gap between low-income students and their more affluent cohorts. The KIPP experiment offers a model for other charter schools and public schools alike.

The report, issued by Mathematica Policy Research, a well-regarded academic think-tank, shows that KIPP students - who come from roughly the same demographic background as their neighbors in public or other charter schools - are making regular gains in math, science, reading and social studies. And while the report, which looked at 43 KIPP schools in 13 states and the District of Columbia, didn't draw specific conclusions about which elements of KIPP's program directly led to success, the data point to strategies that can be copied in other schools: longer school days, a better use of time and an environment focused consistently on good behavior.

This is important data.

One of the elements too often missing from the debate over how to improve schools is evidence to back up claims of future success.

So lawmakers, policy makers, school superintendents, principals and parents should take this study, the second in three years examining KIPP practices, and start applying its lessons.

One of the reasons we have supported the KIPP model as compared to some other charter schools is that the nonprofit organization sees itself as a partner, not a competitor, with public schools.

That's the case in St. Louis where public schools superintendent Kelvin Adams has worked closely with Kelly Garrett, KIPP: St. Louis' executive director on sharing strategies. Adams has adopted some of the KIPP strategies in trying to hire and train principals, for instance.

Garrett notes that the test results at KIPP Inspire Academy in St. Louis mirror the national results.

The Mathematica researchers will now use what they've learned to seek deeper answers in future years. They'll study larger sample sizes and drill down into teaching practices and other policies to try to see what strategies yield higher performance.

But for now, the study should serve as an impetus for action.

Gov. Jay Nixon, for instance, has proposed that Missouri adopt a longer school year. Why not a longer school day, as well? Those school districts that are seeking answers to poor performance should compare the KIPP test results with their own, and start asking themselves: If they can do it, why can't we?

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What Others Are Saying

A protracted debate in the Missouri General Assembly has produced a modest step toward improving transparency when labor unions collect and spend fees.